A hat-trick from Dane Gagai has delivered South Sydney an 18-10 win over Wests Tigers in a fiery NRL clash that could cost them Latrell Mitchell to suspension.
Fireworks sparked early and continued through the match when Josh Reynolds was put on report for kicking Souths centre Campbell Graham in the head while striking out at a loose ball.
The pair were chasing through a kick from David Nofoaluma and as Campbell was falling on the ball, Reynolds threw his boot towards it, collecting a forehead instead.
With Campbell prone on the Bankwest Stadium turf, a scuffle ensued as Mitchell rag-dolled Reynolds, and he was lucky not to be sin-binned for the retaliation.
The Souths fullback collected Reynolds high around the back of the head with a swinging arm before throwing him to the ground, which could draw sanction from the match review committee.
It went unpunished on the field, but he was put on report later for a careless high shot on Tigers forward Luke Garner in the 62nd minute.
At the time the Rabbitohs led 18-0 thanks largely to a hat-trick from winger Dane Gagai who ran riot on the right edge.
Uncharacteristically, Souths halfback Adam Reynolds missed all four conversions from the right touchline, kicking one penalty goal for the match.
And while the Tigers were tough and mounted a comeback with two late tries, they were essentially victims of their own first-half ill-discipline.
Souths took advantage through Gagai twice in six minutes with the winger running in to score two quick tries on the right edge against Tigers debutant Reece Hoffman.
It was a mammoth task for the 19-year-old to mark the Queensland winger after being called in late to replace Tommy Talau who was withdrawn due to a hamstring injury.
His inexperience was exposed again in the second half when his centre partner Moses Mbye raced off the line, leaving him to deal with James Roberts with an overlap on the edge.
Roberts had him covered in speed and strength, racing in to score his first try of the NRL season after a difficult start to the year just after halftime.
However, Hoffman had a moment of joy in the 69th minute when he scored the Tigers’ second try to raise the intensity of the final minutes.
As well as Mitchell, Souths forward Mark Nicholls could be in trouble after he was put on report midway through the second half for a crusher tackle on Josh Aloiai.
Wests Tigers will now take on Brisbane at Leichhardt Oval next Friday, while Souths will face Newcastle at Bankwest.
